When Nolan Carroll was able to return to practice on Thursday, things were looking up for the rookie cornerback/kick returner from Maryland. Unfortunately for Carroll, that concussion he suffered returning the second-half kickoff against the Lions last Sunday was too much for him to overcome in a week. The Miami Dolphins just announced Carroll did not travel on the team plane and has been ruled out for Sunday's season finale at New England. This was at least the second concussion for Carroll, who said he also suffered one during spring practice before his senior year at Maryland.

Tony Sparano said recently he needed to see something from the veteran cornerback Will Allen - needed to see whether he warranted a spot on the Miami Dolphins final roster. Evidently, Sparano and the Dolphins didn't see enough. Allen, who hasn't played in a regular season game since 2009, was among those the Dolphins parted ways with on cut-down Saturday, when NFL teams trimmed their rosters to the 53-man limit. Among the Dolphins' other notable cuts were running back Larry Johnson, fullback Lousaka Polite, defensive back Nate Ness and quarterback Kevin O'Connell.

Cornerback Will Allen recently restructured his contract, which should allow the 10-year veteran to continue playing for the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins planned to release Allen, who missed all of 2010 when the team placed him on injured reserve following a knee scope he underwent in the exhibition season, but Allen's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, got the Dolphins to rework his contract. Terms of the deal weren't available, but it's expected to be more team-friendly than his old contract.

The text messages would arrive the night before each game, like clockwork. More would come afterwards, win or lose. Sometimes, Will Allen would get antsy and send along his thoughts at halftime as well, even as he spent the 2010 season on injured reserve, even as the inactivity threatened to drive him crazy. That's how much Allen, the Dolphins' veteran cornerback, wanted to see young Vontae Davis and Sean Smith thrive. "I'd read it, and he'd be like, 'Yo, you have to stay lower on this.' Or, 'Keep your eyes on your guy,' " Smith says.

Randy Moss won't be taking his talents to South Beach. The troubled former All-Pro receiver has been awarded on waivers to the Tennessee Titans. The Titans had 22nd priority on the waiver wire this week, which means the Miami Dolphins (18th priority) did not put in a claim. Moss will have five days to report to the Titans, who will visit Sun Life Stadium on Nov. 14, which figures to be Moss' second game with them. This isn't the first time the Dolphins have passed on Moss, who owns an offseason home in South Florida and has a longstanding friendship with Dolphins backup quarterback Chad Pennington from their days at Marshall University.

There's a toughness to Will Allen that's hard to put into words. Could Will Allen challenge for a starting spot in 2011? The best way I can explain it is by comparing Allen to that small, but scrappy kid in your neighborhood who never backed down from a fight. Anytime Allen's been counted out, or told he wasn't or couldn't do something, he did it anyway. When I started covering the team in 2007 all I heard was how bad Allen was, but day after day I watched him pull down interceptions during training camp.

Al Harris' real name is Alshinard. Harris is clearly sensitive about it because it became one of the many things his new Dolphins teammates hazed him about this week after Ronnie Brown did a little research (hell, it's on Wikipedia). His age, 35, had to be the other considering he's instantly become the old guy in the locker room. I'm shocked someone hasn't brought in a walker as a gag. Considering this team was embarking on a youth movement, signing Harris, who was cut by Green Bay earlier this week, doesn't make sense UNLESS you knew the inner workings of the Dolphins' secondary room.

MIAMI GARDENS — It was wet. It was sloppy. It was ugly. It opened with receiver Brandon Marshall dropping two passes and ended with Pat White finally inserted to take a knee, his one-season experiment about done. You want the positive of Saturday? Well, it stopped raining. This was just one night of practice, and not a very meaningful one at that, a rainy first quarter compounded by action in the baseball infield's mud and the overwhelming desire to keep the best players upright for the real season.

The text messages would arrive the night before each game, like clockwork. More would come afterwards, win or lose. Sometimes, Will Allen would get antsy and send along his thoughts at halftime as well, even as he spent the 2010 season on injured reserve, even as the inactivity threatened to drive him crazy. That's how much Allen, the Dolphins' veteran cornerback, wanted to see young Vontae Davis and Sean Smith thrive. "I'd read it, and he'd be like, 'Yo, you have to stay lower on this.' Or, 'Keep your eyes on your guy,' " Smith says.

Tony Sparano said recently he needed to see something from the veteran cornerback Will Allen - needed to see whether he warranted a spot on the Miami Dolphins final roster. Evidently, Sparano and the Dolphins didn't see enough. Allen, who hasn't played in a regular season game since 2009, was among those the Dolphins parted ways with on cut-down Saturday, when NFL teams trimmed their rosters to the 53-man limit. Among the Dolphins' other notable cuts were running back Larry Johnson, fullback Lousaka Polite, defensive back Nate Ness and quarterback Kevin O'Connell.

There's a toughness to Will Allen that's hard to put into words. Could Will Allen challenge for a starting spot in 2011? The best way I can explain it is by comparing Allen to that small, but scrappy kid in your neighborhood who never backed down from a fight. Anytime Allen's been counted out, or told he wasn't or couldn't do something, he did it anyway. When I started covering the team in 2007 all I heard was how bad Allen was, but day after day I watched him pull down interceptions during training camp.

Cornerback Will Allen recently restructured his contract, which should allow the 10-year veteran to continue playing for the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins planned to release Allen, who missed all of 2010 when the team placed him on injured reserve following a knee scope he underwent in the exhibition season, but Allen's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, got the Dolphins to rework his contract. Terms of the deal weren't available, but it's expected to be more team-friendly than his old contract.

When Nolan Carroll was able to return to practice on Thursday, things were looking up for the rookie cornerback/kick returner from Maryland. Unfortunately for Carroll, that concussion he suffered returning the second-half kickoff against the Lions last Sunday was too much for him to overcome in a week. The Miami Dolphins just announced Carroll did not travel on the team plane and has been ruled out for Sunday's season finale at New England. This was at least the second concussion for Carroll, who said he also suffered one during spring practice before his senior year at Maryland.

Al Harris' real name is Alshinard. Harris is clearly sensitive about it because it became one of the many things his new Dolphins teammates hazed him about this week after Ronnie Brown did a little research (hell, it's on Wikipedia). His age, 35, had to be the other considering he's instantly become the old guy in the locker room. I'm shocked someone hasn't brought in a walker as a gag. Considering this team was embarking on a youth movement, signing Harris, who was cut by Green Bay earlier this week, doesn't make sense UNLESS you knew the inner workings of the Dolphins' secondary room.

Randy Moss won't be taking his talents to South Beach. The troubled former All-Pro receiver has been awarded on waivers to the Tennessee Titans. The Titans had 22nd priority on the waiver wire this week, which means the Miami Dolphins (18th priority) did not put in a claim. Moss will have five days to report to the Titans, who will visit Sun Life Stadium on Nov. 14, which figures to be Moss' second game with them. This isn't the first time the Dolphins have passed on Moss, who owns an offseason home in South Florida and has a longstanding friendship with Dolphins backup quarterback Chad Pennington from their days at Marshall University.

MIAMI GARDENS — It was wet. It was sloppy. It was ugly. It opened with receiver Brandon Marshall dropping two passes and ended with Pat White finally inserted to take a knee, his one-season experiment about done. You want the positive of Saturday? Well, it stopped raining. This was just one night of practice, and not a very meaningful one at that, a rainy first quarter compounded by action in the baseball infield's mud and the overwhelming desire to keep the best players upright for the real season.

Make it 43 consecutive starts at the beginning of his career for Miami Dolphins franchise LT Jake Long. What, you thought something as minor as a dislocated left shoulder and maybe some tearing in his labrum was going to keep the big guy out of Thursday's game against the Bears and Julius Peppers? No guarantees on how far Long makes it in this game, which he will be playing with the help of a space-age shoulder harness, but the former No. 1 overall pick certainly seemed to be in good spirits as he joked during warmups with fellow linemen Cory Procter (getting the start at center for an injured Joe Berger)